 |
| |
|
| |
Album Review
by SashaS
31-1-2003
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
More on: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: 'Nocturama' |
|
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds: 'Nocturama'
(Mute)
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds’ next bull’s-eye
Some half-a-dozen years ago Ozzy Osbourne complained that no mystery was left in the music biz; the situation has certainly become insufferable since everything becomes known about everyone pretty much before you can buy any music. TV-reality progs – otherwise known as ‘Citizens fooling around for 15 minutes and a lifetime of misery’ – and it is really sad that Ozzy reversed on his conclusion and let the cameras into their house and life.
There is still some mystique left in the world and it continues to be the domain of the exceptional, inimitable, majestic, Nick Cave. And, The Bad Seeds, of course. ‘Nocturama’ is another segment (the 12th with this outfit) of the Cave’s oeuvre, full of acerbic observations, dissections of relationships and tooth-picking sentiments. The Seeds’ advantage has always been – quality of songs, which is also the only thing predictable in this man’s creativity.
And, as usual, it is with a boyish elation we peel layers off this music. 10 steps into darker, insightful, more sinister, haunting, clandestine, indulgent (each individual is an egoist, let’s be Abagnale about it)… The deceptively ‘happy’ realm of songs such as ‘Wonderful Life’, ‘Rock Of Gibraltar’, ‘He Wants You’ are counterbalanced by the ‘blues noir’ of ‘Bring It On’ (the first single is a duet with The Saints’ Chris Bailey), ‘Dead Man In My Bed’, ‘Still In Love’ (the ‘old style’ murder ballad)…
The dramatic, psychotic, alluring disc ends with an epic, rock-epiphany, ‘Babe, I’m On Fire’, that simply captivates you with its impish spell; imagine furious, intense, verbose, just like a negative, the opposite to ‘Riders On The Storm’ by The Doors and you are approximating the scale. What a whipped cream on top of a tiramisu-cheesecake that is the best served with a couple of the seconds.
Cave appears to be getting more intense and absorbed into his version of the truth that’s always been akin to Tom Waits and Scott Walker/Jacques Brel’s theatres of pain, although with more laughs and rockier, and yet his prominence is increasing… timidly. Although vastly respected, he is far from the mainstream and it is ironic that essentially a lightweight copy of his work, the ‘Fame Academy’ winner David Sneddon’s ‘Stop Living The Lie’, is at Number One in the land. The Australian’s greatest single position was No. 11 in 1995 with ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’, a duet with the fellow Melbourne-tte, Kylie Minogue.
Cave’s always been a slightly mordant and analytically inclined musician and that’s what makes him more than compelling. One of the very few men, ever since his Birthday Party days and that was nearly 23 years ago, who’ve managed to be consistently – resplendent.
If a single Cave/Bad Seeds’ song has failed to touch your life, you must be a giraffe!
9/10
SashaS
31-1-2003
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds’ album ‘Nocturama’ is released 03 Feb. 2003 by Mute
|
|
|
